Dominate the Super Bowl-Chapter 641

Chapter 641: 640 Determined to win Chapter 641: 640 Determined to win Marvin Lewis and his Cincinnati Bengals, unified from top to bottom, inside and out, confidently united and aiming for victory.

Perhaps, some might say, where does the courage of the Cincinnati Bengals come from, Taylor Swift?

One team had missed the playoffs for two consecutive seasons and was slowly declining, while the other had just won the Super Bowl and was on the rise.

Even though the Kansas City Chiefs had narrowly lost to the New England Patriots in their last game, they should have been the favored side.

However, that was not the case.

This season, the Cincinnati Bengals fully recovered.

They kicked off the season by defeating the Indianapolis Colts and then the Baltimore Ravens, beating playoff contenders in two consecutive cold-game surprise victories, with a young team finally maturing and regaining strength after overcoming injury troubles.

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Despite a slight setback with a hard-fought loss to the Carolina Panthers in the third week, they quickly rallied to narrowly win away against the Atlanta Falcons, and then decisively beat the Miami Dolphins at home to continue their winning streak and quickly get back on track.

In the 2018 season, a start of four wins and one loss ranked them just behind the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams at the top of the league’s pyramid.

Undoubtedly, the Cincinnati Bengals became the biggest surprise of the new season, especially their offensive group, which averaged 30.6 points per game, winning rounds of applause.

Quarterback Dalton returned to the public eye and entered the substitute lineup for the MVP discussion in the regular season.

It was slightly regrettable that in week six of the regular season, the Cincinnati Bengals faced the Pittsburgh Steelers and the offensive group hit a wall for the first time, scoring “only” 21 points, ultimately losing by a touchdown’s deficit.

Currently, their season record stands at four wins and two losses.

Simply put, facing the Kansas City Chiefs, the Cincinnati Bengals are not afraid at all.

Looking at the record, the state of the team, the history, and so on, Lewis’s confidence is not unfounded arrogance; the Cincinnati Bengals indeed have the capability to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs.

Most importantly, both the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs had just suffered a loss, and for a young team, how to quickly shake off the shadow of defeat, adjust, and find the rhythm and state of the game again is key, and in this regard, Lewis is utterly confident.

Not to mention, earlier this season, the Cincinnati Bengals had already made a “recovery,” quickly adjusting after a tough battle lost to the Carolina Panthers and then triumphing over the Atlanta Falcons in a clash of titans.

A loss won’t dampen the Bengals’ spirits; in fact, it does quite the opposite, igniting their desire for victory and unleashing more energy.

However, look at the Kansas City Chiefs—

The controversies surrounding Li Wei off the field kept the team constantly in the eye of the storm, with hordes of media surrounding the training facility, making it impossible to find peace.

The young quarterback, Mahomes, also got a taste of being relentlessly chased by paparazzi.

On Wednesday, after practice ended, Mahomes and Li Wei left the training facility together, only to be dazed by the overwhelming flashes from over three hundred journalists, scrambling with their heads covered, dispersed in the surging crowd.

In the end, Li Wei found Mahomes, who was trapped with no escape in a public restroom in a park not far from the training facility, and after opening a path through the crowd to rescue Mahomes, they made a bloody breakthrough.

That night, the photo of Mahomes leaving the restroom in disarray went viral.

No sooner had one wave settled than another arose.

Before the heat of the last news cycle had subsided, Mahomes caught fire again unwillingly, becoming a meme, and living in the timeline of social networks.

The next day, the crowd around the Kansas City Chiefs Training Facility continued to grow, and even completely closing practice by Reed couldn’t stop the paparazzi’s frenzy.

Off-field gossip, without a doubt, was playing the role of a distracting factor.

In this short week, everything inside and outside the Kansas City Chiefs was likely far from calm.

Lewis’s confidence in defeating the Kansas City Chiefs was further solidified.

The Cincinnati Bengals would prove themselves, show that the Kansas City Chiefs are beneath them, demonstrate that the Chiefs’ glory last season was just a fluke, and prove that they are the true champions meant to reach the Super Bowl pinnacle.

However—

The Kansas City Chiefs might have a slightly different opinion.

“Mahomes!”

“Mahomes is observing, Kelsey has found an opening on the left wing!”

“Wait, a play-action fake!”

“Mahomes hands the football to Li Wei, choosing the play-action fake tactic for the second consecutive time, attempting to deceive the Cincinnati Bengals’ defense again.”

“Oh, no!”

“This time, Atkins says no!”

Geno Atkins, playing as a Defensive End, may not be as well-known as JJ Watt or Aaron Donald, but he’s a five-time Pro Bowl honoree, unmistakably a standout in the defense even during the two seasons when the Bengals missed the playoffs.

Today, Atkins’ gaze was firmly fixed on Mahomes and Li Wei.

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

In this offensive drive, Atkins was already on guard, his eyes locked on Mahomes but never forgetting Li Wei—

He wouldn’t let the Kansas City Chiefs’ ground offense have their way on his turf.

Push off, step up.

Misdirection, break free.

Atkins’ footwork in preparing to capture the quarterback was remarkably light and agile, easily shaking off the opposing offensive line with changes in center of gravity and footing, cutting into the pocket in the blink of an eye, blocking the path of Li Wei’s straight-line breakthrough, just like a crab.

And there’s more!

Atkins wasn’t rash.

On one hand, he knew he needed to act quickly, giving no time for Li Wei to gather speed.

On the other, he also knew he needed to keep his cool, not to fumble the tackle with a hasty response.

Despite the tense situation, with the offensive line still entangled in collision, Atkins briefly braked to stabilize himself at the critical moment, maintaining flexibility in his center of gravity, and sealing off the route.

But that wasn’t all.

Simultaneously, leaning forward with his upper body and spreading his arms wide, he locked his gaze intensely on Li Wei, creating a powerful, invisible pressure that forced Li Wei to lose patience and composure in the chaos, leading to a mistake and poor choices.

All of this happened in the fraction of a second.

Li Wei, having just received the ball and preparing to take off, could already feel the immense pressure bearing down on him, clearly facing an opponent well-prepared for this moment.

The air seemed to thicken, as you could distinctly feel the collision of their auras briefly pause, reminiscent of the moments before martial arts masters exchanged blows, instantly escalating the tension.

However, Li Wei didn’t pause.

With a single step, he plunged straight at Atkins head-on.

Atkins: Bring it on.

Atkins didn’t fall for Li Wei’s bluff; he bent his knees to lower his center of gravity, taking control of the situation.

Just as Li Wei was about to change direction, Atkins took the initiative, spreading his arms wide in preparation to make the tackle.

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But to his surprise, Li Wei didn’t swerve left or right; instead, he abruptly stopped, pivoting a full three hundred and sixty degrees counter-clockwise on the spot, evading Atkins’ firm grasp.

The two of them, one to the left and the other to the right, effortlessly glided past one another.

It was done with such casual ease, as if taking a leisurely stroll in the garden.